The present invention relates to a suspension device for the suspension of an article of low weight at a variable distance below an attachment point for said device on a suitable support.
More particularly, the invention relates to such a device of the kind comprising a body, provided with attachment means for attaching said body to said support at said attachment point, a flexible string of substantial length connected to said body at its one end, and an article holder, to which said body is connected at its other end, said body being also provided with a formation which is adapted to carry at least a major portion of the string wound thereon but from which a selectable length of said string portion may be unwound while leaving the remaining length thereof wound on said formation.
Suspension devices of said kind are used for many different purposes. Especially, they have found extensive use for the suspension of various signs, decorations and other articles of low weight at a selectable height at desired locations within shops, stores, exhibition rooms and similar places.
In prior art suspension devices of the above kind, the body has been formed by a steel wire, bent into a suitable shape to form, on the one hand, a hook which may be used as an attachment means for attaching the body to an attachment point on a wall, a ceiling or another support, and on the other hand, a formation for carrying the string wound thereon. The article holder has been formed by a separate metal needle, adapted to anchor said other end of the string to an article to be suspended by means of the suspension device.
In practice, said known suspension devices have been found to suffer from substantial disadvantages. Firstly, the manufacturing costs are comparatively high due to the fact that said devices are made through a series of manual operations as they are not suited for production by automatic means. Secondly, said known devices are impracticle in use as a consequence of the fact that the string may easily be unwound from said formation in an unintentional manner.
The present invention has for its object to provide an improved suspension device of the kind initially specified which avoids the above drawbacks previously encountered in connection with such suspension devices.
Another object of the invention is to provide a suspension device of said kind which may be attached to a suitable support in an alternative manner, i.e. which does not necessarily have to be hooked to the support.